With the Archbishop of Westminster making the case for clerics in hospitals, Terry Sanderson questions why hospital chaplains are still funded by the public purse when the NHS needs all the help it can get.

David Cameron's big society initiative could result in religion taking control of welfare provision, just as it did in Victorian times. Terry Sanderson warns against this and explains why the role of 'faith communities' should be limited and modest.

As the UK economy stagnates, church-run food banks are booming. But as local authorities draw up plans to refer people in need to food banks, Stephen Evans asks: should the welfare state force citizens to turn to the church in their hour of need?

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